Mitzi Pederson explores the formal qualities
of abstract sculpture, juxtaposing such disparate
materials as cinder blocks, plywood, plastic, cellophane,
silver leaf, and aluminum tape in carefully balanced
constructions that challenge the viewer to directly
engage with the materiality of the work. Her sensitive
use of specific media results in visually compelling
works drawing on the legacy of modernist sculpture
from Constantin Brancusi’s attention to wood and stone
surfaces to Donald Judd’s use of industrial materials.

In yellow and orange (2006) a tall mast of cinder
blocks supports a construction of thin, bowed wood
paneling and shimmering orange cellophane. Extending
from the tower, the cellophane is drawn taut by a
sheet of wood that, anchored between two blocks
of a second, shorter column, in turn bends and yields
to the pull of the plastic. The thin, tacky cellophane
emphasizes both the heft of the cement and the
strength of the arced wood, but by withstanding the
strain of the forces acting on it, the diaphanous strip
proves improbably strong and resilient. As she draws
our attention to the properties of these simple,
everyday materials, Pederson illustrates the tensions
between them as well as their collaboration. Hinting
at her early training in architecture, she often utilizes
the gallery infrastructure in her work. Here another
strip of bowed plywood is secured between the corner
of the gallery and the cinder stack, while a second
sheet of plastic extends along the wall. The design
relies on the inherent qualities of each component and
its environment, the elements engaging in a tenuous
interdependency as they reach equilibrium. This
implicit interaction and movement imbues the work
with its disarming impermanence.

The precarious balance of her constructions is central
to Pederson’s practice. In untitled (ten years later
or maybe just one) (2005) the arrangement of coarsely
chipped cinder blocks—smaller, solitary fragments
leading to larger, stacked pieces—is reminiscent of
craggy mountainscapes or historical ruins. Placed without
mortar to adhere the blocks, the work is at once
transitory and enduring. Pederson has overlaid the
exposed, rough edges of the broken blocks with dark
gray glitter, visually offsetting the weight of the material
and its connotation of building construction. The
sparkling fragments take on an organic, crystalline
appearance that transforms the banal building material
into a timeless, otherworldly substance. Elegantly negotiating
and balancing the properties of her materials,
Pederson creates subtle, enigmatic sculptures that resonate
with an allusive ambiguity. STACEY GOERGEN